


What Your Magic Does to Me

by MythsAndMythos



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Arthur knows more than he should, Hunting trip, M/M, Magic Reveal, magic kink
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-12
Updated: 2016-09-12
Packaged: 2018-08-14 17:40:14
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,949
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8023057
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MythsAndMythos/pseuds/MythsAndMythos
Summary: Arthur's struggled with his knowledge of Merlin's magic for a long time, but not for the reasons you'd think.





	What Your Magic Does to Me

Merlin really was horrible at hiding his magic. Oh he thought he was inconspicuous, he thought no one knew that he was a practicing sorcerer, but Arthur knew. Arthur had known for years now, almost since they had started growing closer than a prince and manservant should really be. As soon as Arthur felt he could call Merlin a friend, he found out he could also call him a sorcerer. But the two had been through too much at that point for Arthur to even consider Merlin a threat. If Merlin was a danger to anyone, it was himself.

Arthur wished Merlin would be more careful. Not everyone would be as accepting as Arthur was with the casual, extremely illegal, punishable by death, practice of magic. On the other hand, Arthur found it endearingly cute how much effort Merlin put into being ‘sneaky’ when he really was quite obvious.

Merlin’s continued ineptitude also fueled Arthur’s little problem, an unhealthy fixation with Merlin’s magic. It didn’t start immediately, but the more magic Arthur witnessed the more he became obsessed with the flash of gold in Merlin’s eyes and the feeling of magic crackling through the air.

Arthur’s fixation was dangerous for both of them. Arthur discovered that Merlin had a particular interest in keeping him alive, so if they were in a fight Merlin was bound to break out his spells. This drove Arthur to seek out riskier situations and made him vulnerable to attack because he was distracted by staring at Merlin’s eyes in hopes of a glimpse of gold.

Arthur was so screwed.

After particularly magic heavy days Arthur usually had to send Merlin away early or risk revealing he knew Merlin’s secret. As soon as Merlin was out the door, and that sometimes took hours of arguing, Arthur had it locked and himself stripped in record time. Spending hours in Merlin’s magical presence and trying to suppress his raging hard-on was difficult at the best of times.

For some reason, Arthur had become entranced by the golden light in his manservant’s eyes as he performed the most illegal act in Camelot. It was easy enough for Arthur to picture the flash of gold in his mind, but recalling the brush of magic against his skin was much more difficult. 

Arthur had worked himself into such states before that he almost broke and summoned Merlin in order to command him to perform some trivial magic that would get him off. 

But Arthur was steadfast in his commitment to two promises he had made to himself. One, that he would never out Merlin, he would wait for Merlin to reveal himself on his own terms. And two, he would never reveal to Merlin just how much he cared for the idiot. 

That being said, Arthur still went out of his way to spend as much time in the presence of his manservant as he could, and that was how he found himself on yet another hunting trip with only Merlin for company. His father thought it would be a great idea for Arthur to get some exercise and enjoy the fresh air, and Arthur thought it was a great idea to force Merlin to come along. Arthur had made the case that they didn’t need any knights to join them since they were only planning on being gone a few days and weren’t going very far.

The hunt had started out well, that is, they hadn’t run into any bandits or other peril on the first day. The men had camped for the night before moving on at dawn and trudging farther into the forest. By the time midday hit the two were tired and Merlin’s complaints had grown in frequency until he was constantly rambling and any hope of actually catching something was slim to none.

“Merlin,” Arthur drawled, “Would you shut up for one second. Every animal in the forest can hear your complaints.”

Merlin huffed and fell quiet for a moment, and Arthur pretended not to notice the satisfied gleam in his eyes at sparing the poor creatures lives. The two continued to creep through the forest for another few moments until the blissful silence was broken by the shouting of multiple bandits leaping out from the trees.

“Damn it Merlin,” Arthur huffed as he blocked an axe aimed for his neck, “All your shouting attracted attention.” Arthur slew the man who had first jumped him and spun to see how Merlin was faring.

“Well I’m sorry,” Merlin grit out sarcastically, dancing away from the two men trying to grab him. “Maybe if I wasn’t dragged along on every pointless hunting trip this wouldn’t happen as much.”

Arthur was distracted by another two men who had appeared and began thrusting swords at him. “Next time be quieter!” He complained while dispatching his assailants. 

He turned just in time to hear Merlin indignantly exclaim “I’d rather there not be a next time you clotpole” and saw his eyes flash golden and the two men go flying back into the forest, hitting the trees with a heavy thud.

Merlin looked at Arthur with wide, terrified eyes. Arthur could see his manservant’s mind working quickly to determine if Arthur had seen the display of magic, which he clearly had, and trying to craft a lie to explain what happened.

“Arthur,” Merlin whispered in the now silent forest. He stepped over the body of one of the bandits and reached out towards the prince. “Arthur I can explain.”

Arthur could hear the desperation and fear in the man’s voice and he sighed. This was not how Arthur wanted the truth to come out. He turned and beckoned for Merlin to follow him back towards their camp. If they were going to talk about this, and they definitely had to talk, they were going to do it in comfort at their camp and not in the woods surrounded by dead bandits.

As they walked Arthur could hear Merlin muttering curses at himself, berating himself for his stupidity. Arthur tried to think of something comforting to say, but figured he should wait until they were sitting and ready to have an actual discussion. 

When they reached the camp, Arthur motioned for Merlin to sit next to him on a log by the extinguished campfire. Once they were seated Merlin jumped into action, apparently having spent the time on the walk thinking up what to say.

“Arthur I’m so sorry I hid this from you,” The man sounded choked up and it physically hurt Arthur to hear him so frightened. When Arthur tried to speak, to reassure him, he was stopped by Merlin. “No, I want to say this before you can be angry with me or order my death. I’ve hid this part of myself from you for so long, but I never wanted to lie to you. I was born with magic but I’ve only ever used it to help and protect you. Please Arthur you have to believe me. I’d give my life to see you become the king you’re meant to be, and I’ve come close to it a few times. Please Arthur.”

Merlin was on the verge of tears now and Arthur couldn’t take it anymore. It didn’t look like Merlin was going to stop speaking and Arthur desperately needed to reassure his manservant, his friend, that he wasn’t in any danger. 

Arthur pulled the stubborn man into a hug which effectively cut off his rambling. The hug itself couldn’t be that comfortable, seeing as Arthur was still dressed in his hunting gear, but Merlin melted into him all the same.

“Shhh,” Arthur mumbled into Merlin’s hair. “It’s ok, I’ve got you.”

Merlin sniffled and drew back, looking at Arthur with confusion. “How can you be alright with this? Magic is outlawed by command of your father. It’s only ever been used to hurt you.”

A wry smile crossed Arthur’s face and he allowed himself one stroke of Merlin’s face before drawing back. “Not only to hurt me. I have it on good authority I wouldn’t last a day without you. I’ve known about your magic for a long time.” The shock on Merlin’s face would have been laughable in any other situation. “You’re not actually that good at hiding it.”

Now it was indignation that took over Merlin’s gaze. “I’ll have you know I’m great at hiding it, no one else knows. Well, no one besides Gaius.”

Arthur rolled his eyes but was internally rejoicing at Merlin’s returned humor. “Merlin,” he drawled, “If I could figure it out, anyone could.”

Merlin smiled mischievously and pushed Arthur’s shoulder, “Well then, I’m surprised the entire city of Camelot doesn’t know, seeing as you’re such a dollophead.”

Arthur pushed him off the log and stood up. “I’m going to let that go because I’m generous and you’ve had a stressful day.” Merlin smiled up at him from the ground and Arthur had to avert his gaze or risk breaking his second promise to himself. “I’m going to bed, I’ll see you in the morning.”

Arthur turned to enter his tent but was stopped by a hand on his shoulder. The sincerity shining in Merlin’s eyes took his breath away and he had to focus to hear the words whispered to him. “Thank you Arthur, you really will make a great king.”

Arthur bid a hasty retreat into his tent, eager to put the excitement of the day behind him.

The next day dawned bright and clear, perfect hunting weather, although Arthur would rather spend the day discussion magic with Merlin than silently picking through the woods.

He emerged from his tent in a simple tunic and breeches, comfortable with being in this state of undress when only Merlin was on the trip. Arthur found Merlin already awake and returning to camp with an armful of logs. 

“Morning!” Merlin chirped when he saw Arthur. “Looks like a lovely day, although I’m surprised you’re up already.”

Arthur mumbled a response as he watched his manservant set about preparing for breakfast. Merlin’s eyes flashed as he levitated the logs into the perfect arrangement for a campfire, and then lit up again to trigger a burst of flame. He then summoned a pot from their supplies which were stacked on the other side of the camp as well as the pitcher of water they filled last night.

“I hope you’re ok with a simple breakfast.” Merlin said, turning to face Arthur’s frozen form. When he saw Arthur standing stiffly and starting silently at the roaring flames, he paled and scrambled to stand up. “Arthur I’m sorry.” He apologized. “I thought that you’d be alright with me using magic freely when it’s just us. I should have known you didn’t want to see it at all.”

Arthur grabbed his arms and looked at Merlin’s eyes. “No,” Arthur choked out, clearing his throat to speak more clearly. “No it’s fine. Please, continue.”

Not even the use of please was enough to drag Merlin out of his worked up state. “No Arthur, I don’t want to make you uncomfortable.” Arthur scoffed at that. He was uncomfortable, but for a different reason than Merlin thought. “I’ll just—“ 

Merlin went to grab the items he had been summoning earlier but tripped and fell against Arthur’s body. He squeaked and tried to wriggle away before feeling Arthur’s traitorous body’s reaction to the magic.

“Arthur,” he questioned hesitantly, “How exactly does my magic make you feel?”

Arthur dropped Merlin and tried to move away, but the sorcerer wasn’t having that and followed every step back Arthur took. 

“You know what,” Arthur stuttered, trying to retreat to his tent but stopping by the entrance when it was clear Merlin wasn’t giving up. “I think I’ll just go have a bit of a lie down.”

“You’ve only just got up.” Merlin said with a sly grin, “Wouldn’t want to waste the day.”

Arthur let out an embarrassing squeak as Merlin pressed himself against the distraught prince, grinning at how eager Arthur was. “Tell me,” he whispered in Arthur’s ear. “Is it me or the magic?”

Arthur closed his eyes in defeat and sighed, “Both.” He mumbled back. “But I never wanted to take advantage. After all, you’re my servant, I could have commanded it of you.”

Merlin laughed and looped his arms around Arthur’s back. “You couldn’t take advantage of me if you tried, however, I’ve been dreaming of this for a while.”

Arthur shuddered and rested his forehead against Merlin, breathing in the younger man’s scent and staring into his blue eyes. Suddenly Merlin hissed a string of words Arthur couldn’t understand and his eyes flashed that delicious gold, and Arthur was lost.

He surged forward and captured the sorcerer’s lips, desperately reaching up to tangle a hand in the unruly mop of hair Merlin refused to tame. Merlin responded eagerly, giving in to the desire he’d harbored for his prince since they’d met.

The two backed through the entrance to Arthur’s tent and tumbled onto the bedroll. Merlin made quick work of Arthur’s tunic, dragging it over the blonde’s head and moving back to kiss at his neck. 

“Merlin,” Arthur gasped wantonly below the smaller man, “Please.”

Arthur could feel Merlin’s smirk against his neck before Merlin’s lips brushed against the shell of his ear. “I wish I’d known that this is all it takes for you to be polite.”

Shivering at the words ghosting against his skin Arthur rolled, flipping them so he could hover above Merlin. He managed to divest Merlin of his clothing with minimal struggle, and took his time admiring the lithe body wriggling beneath him. 

Merlin looked up at Arthur, who was yet to remove his own breeches, and decided to make his own move. Merlin waited until Arthur looked him in the eye again, and used his magic to remove the remainder of prince’s clothing. 

Merlin knew his eyes had flashed golden when Arthur gasped and involuntarily rolled his hips against Merlin’s, slotting their cocks together and creating perfect friction. Merlin arched into Arthur’s embrace and started whimpering, begging for more. 

Never one to disappoint, Arthur trailed his fingers slowly down each knob of Merlin’s spine. He savored the shivers that wracked Merlin’s body as his fingers dropped lower and lower. 

Merlin’s eyes started flashing again and Arthur could feel the magic creep across his skin, setting his blood on fire. Arthur was shaking by the time he reached Merlin’s hole, only to realize what the most recent batch of spells had been for.

“Eager?” Arthur gasped when he realized Merlin had prepared himself with magic.

Merlin laughed breathlessly, gasping as Arthur’s fingers moved inside him. “I didn’t know how long you would last.” Merlin choked at a particularly pointed thrust against his prostate. “I know what my magic does to you.”

“Somehow that seems like misuse of your power,” Arthur mumbled against Merlin’s lips before dragging him into a deep kiss.

Arthur swallowed Merlin’s moans as he removed his fingers only to push slowly into the sorcerer beneath him, savoring the tightness of Merlin’s body. When he was fully sheathed he paused, letting Merlin adjust to the feeling and reveling in their mingled breaths. 

When Merlin nodded for Arthur to move, it took all of his control not to pound Merlin into the ground. 

“Next time,” Arthur panted, ignoring the pang of insecurity that wondered if there even would be a next time. “We’re doing this on my bed, pillows and a mattress will be much more comfortable than a bedroll on the rocky ground.”

Between moans and gasps Merlin choked out, “Agreed.”

Arthur grinned at the man beneath him, but grew wary at the look that flashed across Merlin’s face that showed he had an idea. Before he could ask what it was Merlin had thought of, he felt Merlin’s magic flare up around them and flip them so Merlin was straddling him as he lay on the ground.

“Merlin,” Arthur moaned in a way quite different from his usual drawl of the man’s name. Merlin shivered at his outburst before moving, slowly at first but quickly picking up speed, as he fucked himself on Arthur’s dick.

The tent was filled with the sounds of skin slapping and breathless groans. Merlin knew Arthur wouldn’t last much longer and knew just what he wanted to do to push him over the edge.

“Arthur, look at me.” The blonde kept his eyes scrunched closed for a few moments longer before wrenching his eyes open to look at the man above him. 

Merlin took that opportunity to whisper one last spell, something meaningless that caused a slight breeze outside, but which pushed Arthur completely over the edge from the display of magical power alone. Merlin shuddered and came with Arthur, painting the prince’s chest with ropes of white. 

Chest heaving, Merlin rolled off Arthur to lay at his side, murmuring a quick spell to remove the mess they had made. Arthur turned to gather Merlin in his arms and they laid together exhausted. 

Finally, Merlin nudged Arthur’s chest and broke the hazy, peaceful silence. “I hope you were serious about using the bed next time, the ground isn’t very comfortable for cuddling.” Arthur snorted but didn’t otherwise react. “I’m serious, I think there’s a rock lodged against my back.”

“Can’t you just be quiet for once Merlin?” Arthur muttered, too tired to use his arrogant drawl. 

Merlin smiled and snuggled deeper into Arthur’s embrace, basking in the warmth radiating from his prince. He may not know exactly what the future held, but if it was anything like this then Merlin was happy to share Arthur’s destiny.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, come chat with me at mythsandmythos.tumblr.com


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